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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25126270">count your blessings, not your sins</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/delightwrites/pseuds/delightwrites'>delightwrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing Friendships, Friendship, Gen, Team Bonding, What else to tag?, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, he just doesn't know it, luckily aang likes giving hugs, plus an obligatory aang finds out about zuko's scar fic for bonus, set after the firebending masters, this is a zuko learning to adjust to the gaang in the western air temple fic, zuko and aang's friendship is so important to me</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:42:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,660</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25126270</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/delightwrites/pseuds/delightwrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Zuko signed up to teach the Avatar firebending. He did not sign up for family dinners."</p><p>-</p><p>A story of growing friendships, mostly featuring Aang, who is still sometimes nervous about firebending, and Zuko, who is still sometimes nervous about... well, everything. Sokka and Toph are also there to help out as Zuko learns to accept being accepted.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang &amp; Zuko (Avatar), Sokka &amp; Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang &amp; Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong &amp; Zuko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>125</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2626</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>A:tla, Quality Fics, avatar tingz</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>count your blessings, not your sins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've been wanting to write this ever since I started rewatching the show and now here it is. I had so many feelings writing this one, it's unbelievable.</p><p>Hope you like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p></p><div class="">
  <p>Zuko signed up to teach the Avatar firebending. He did not sign up for <em>family dinners</em>.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>When he first heard that all of them are going to eat together, he felt a sickness in his stomach and he refused as politely as he could. Back at home - which wasn't really home anymore, as it turned out - dinners with his mother, father and sister were always spent in embarassing silence and formality, his mother making desperate attempts to ask about their days and his father praising Azula as she retold what new firebending moves she'd mastered. The great royal dinners with even more relatives, as well as a bunch of selected noblemen and generals, were even worse. So really, Zuko preferred eating alone.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>This time though, he had to make an effort.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>An effort to show his new allies or companions or maybe even friends, that he wanted to be part of the team. Something that felt a little more possible now, after his trip with Aang to the city of the Sun Warriors.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang had asked him this time and Toph, the one person who'd believed him right from the start, went as far as to say it would be really <em>cool</em> if he could join them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Also it would make Twinkletoes happy," the earthbender added with a shrug.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko almost asked who the hell she was talking about before putting two and two together. When he realised, he couldn't hide a chuckle. Aang shot him an exasperated look.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But Zuko had agreed and now he was sitting with the rest of them around the fire that he made Aang light, as practice.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Here you go," Sokka said as he tossed him a bowl. He was sitting next to the two small cauldrons, giving everyone a portion of the food and gesturing wildly with the spoon between two servings as he retold a story about some sort of spirit library to Teo and Haru.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Which one would you like, the meat or the vegetarian menu?" he asked Zuko who could only stare at the Water Tribe boy with a baffled expression. Was this some sort of joke that he didn't get? Was Sokka making fun of him? He seemed genuine but Zuko wasn't sure.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Vegetarian menu?" he breathed out eventually, hoping he wasn't about to horribly embarass himself.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Yeah, that one's for Aang, 'cause he doesn't eat meat," Sokka explained with a pout on his face. "How he does it, don't ask me, but it's because of some sort of Air Nomad philosophy, you know?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko hadn't known that before.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"The other choice's stew," Sokka continued. "Katara made it. Don't worry, she's a passable cook."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Katara caught her head up at the word <em>passable</em>. Yeah, Sokka was probably going to regret that.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I'd like the stew," Zuko said quickly before the situation could escalate. "Please."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sokka nodded, an almost grateful look in his eyes as he filled Zuko's bowl. The teen headed back to sit in his place between Aang and Toph.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Katara's stew was alright, though it could have used some more spices, in Zuko's opinion. Or a lot more. He just couldn't get used to mild foods, not even after his time spent in the Earth Kingdom. The conversation around him turned back to the spirit library but Zuko was only listening with half an ear. He ate in silence, deep in his own thoughts.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Logically, Zuko had known the Avatar and his companions were children. Kids. Definitely younger than him. He knew it, of course. But he wasn't prepared for it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It all was very very strange to him, the way Toph called everyone - really, <em>everyone </em>- nicknames and Sokka cracked stupid jokes and Katara rolled her eyes at them and Aang-</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>(Twinkletoes, according to Toph, Zuko thought back and almost cracked a smile. And that was strange all on its own, that Zuko knew this nickname, when in the past, he hadn't even bothered to find out his name at all. The Avatar, that's all he had been to Zuko. He was Aang now.)</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And Aang was, of course, the Avatar, master of <em>almost</em> all four elements - and really, he was starting to get the hang of firebending too. But he was also like twelve. And he did many things that, in Zuko's memory, only the goofiest twelve-year-olds did. He also called Zuko <em>Sifu Hotman</em> because for some reason he was convinced Fire Nation slang worked like that. It didn't. Zuko told him that, several times, but Aang didn't let that stop him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And, apparently, he was vegetarian. Uncle was right, you really do learn something every day.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Dinner together wasn’t that bad, actually, Zuko realised in surprise. Sure, Katara’s stew was bland and the constant noise and chattering of Team Avatar - as Sokka called the group - was something he hadn’t quite got used to just yet and he still felt somewhat out-of-place, but...</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Not bad, Zuko thought. Not at all.</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>-</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>There were nights Zuko couldn’t sleep. This night, after tossing and turning in his bed for what felt like hours, he got bored of staring at the ceiling of the tiny, dusty chamber that once belonged to a monk. He got up, and slipped out from his room. Perhaps he should practice some of his forms? It wouldn’t hurt to go over them on his own before showing them to Aang. And that, that was still such a strange sort of thought for him, even if he often found himself making mental notes of what and how to teach his new student. Because Zuko knew he’d never been so good at firebending to give advice on the forms or to actually, really <em>teach </em>anyone. He was always the one being taught or - with Azula - the one being surpassed quickly. But now a kid who was still sometimes afraid of fire and who also happened to be the world’s last hope was counting on him for advice and teaching.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In any case, practice would surely distract him from the things that kept him awake at night and that was just exactly what Zuko wanted.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>So he headed out but soon he had to find he wasn’t the only one still awake. On the terrace they usually used for training, a figure sat in the pale moonlight.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Sokka?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He didn’t expect to find the Water Tribe boy here.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Oh, hey Zuko! I didn't realise you were still up." Sokka greeted him nonchalantly. "What's the team's second favourite firebender doing so late at night?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko stared at him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"<em>Second favourite firebender</em>?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Yup. The first place's reserved for Aang, sorry," Sokka said with a shrug. "But don't worry, your royal fireiness, second's not so bad. Sure, it's not as good as being the favourite Idea Guy Slash Boomerang Warrior, as yours truly, but not bad."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Uh," said Zuko. He briefly wondered if Aang held the place of the team's favourite bender in every other element too. He had a feeling Toph and Katara would have a few words to say about that. No matter how troubled Zuko was feeling, it was a funny thought. "Thanks, Sokka."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Anytime," the Water Tribe boy winked at him. Zuko noticed in the past days that Sokka had mysteriously stopped being bothered by his presence. He wondered if it was thanks to Toph and Aang taking a liking to Zuko and Sokka trusting <em>them </em>or Sokka himself easing up to him gradually. Either way, it probably helped that Zuko was the only one his age. Besides Haru, but apparently Sokka considered Zuko to be a much better material for his jokes than the quiet boy from the Earth Kingdom. "Anyways, why aren't you in bed, huh? I thought you Fire Nation folks were all... <em>morning people</em>, with all those rise-with-the-sun speeches you've been torturing Aang with... "</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I couldn't sleep," Zuko said simply.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Yeah," Sokka nodded. Zuko was half-expecting him to make another joke but instead he just glanced up at the moon. "Me neither."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They sat in silence. It wasn't exactly an awkward kind of silence but Zuko wished he could come up with something to say. Sokka could be extremely annoying sometimes but Zuko would have taken just about anything to get his mind off his concerns.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"So uh, what's troubling you?" Sokka asked out of the blue before Zuko could have thought of anything. "I mean you don't have to tell me! I just figured you might want to... Tell me, that is."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Okay, Zuko certainly wasn't expecting that.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’d rather not,” he said, voice raspy, because he didn’t want to - wasn’t ready - to talk about these things. Not just yet, anyway. About Uncle and Mai, about his father and Azula, and about the comet approaching soon, too soon. “But thanks.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sokka nodded. Zuko guessed he probably didn’t mind not having a heart-to-heart with a former enemy, but he’d still offered and that was... that was something.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hey, did you always have that fancy double swords of yours?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What? Oh, uh, yeah, I learned swordfighting a couple years ago and... yeah,” Zuko answered, grateful for the change in subject. “But the name’s dao, not <em>fancy double swords.</em>”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Why would a firebender need to know swordfighting?” Sokka sounded genuinely curious. “I mean, me, that’s understandable, but you?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It was useful at the time of the eclipse, so-” Zuko shrugged.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Point taken,” Sokka said. Then he lit up, like he just had an amazing idea. Zuko wondered how much he was going to like it. “Hey, why don’t we test them out? Master Piandao said to practice the katas and I do, but it’s not like I’m surrounded with the best sparring partners here...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Master Piandao? You learned from him?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sokka nodded proudly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Huh,” said Zuko. Small world. “Me too.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Awesome! Then, what do you say, shall we-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Alright, alright, get your sword.” Well, he <em>was</em> looking for something to distract him that night.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Both of them rushed back for their weapons then prepared to face off on the terrace.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No jerkbending allowed,” Sokka said, readying his sword.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko spinned his blades.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I don’t need bending to kick your ass.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hey, you don’t remember that I <em>have</em> kicked your ass before?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko did remember. One encounter with Sokka’s boomerang had his head throbbing for two good days. Not like he was going to admit that.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You know, I’m pretty sure that was Katara who kicked my ass. And sometimes Aang.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Haha, yeah,” Sokka chuckled, instead of letting himself be teased. “They <em>did</em> kick your ass, buddy. My sister and a twelve-year-old kid. Multiple times. It was kind of fun to watch... No offense, though.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“None taken.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Some taken, here.” But there was no actual anger in his voice. In fact, Sokka was grinning at him widely. “You won’t admit I could fight you so I gotta fight you now to, you know, defend <em>my</em> <em>honor</em> and stuff.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko rolled his eyes and prepared his stance.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sokka charged but he countered the attack relatively easily. Then he leapt forward and knocked Sokka’s sword out his hand. He stumbled and ended up on the ground.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hey, that’s not fair!” The Water Tribe boy’s face went red from the shame of being defeated so quickly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Well, I had a couple years to train and you had what, a couple weeks? Months, tops?” Zuko offered him a hand. Sokka pouted, like a child, but took his hand and allowed Zuko to help him up.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They tried a second time and okay, it took longer because Sokka managed to hold his own against him quite well but Zuko won again. And then a third time too. The fourth time he tripped on a pile of debris that he later cursed himself for not noticing, as it’d been there for like a hundred years.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hah!” Sokka said with a winning smile, the tip of his sword pointed at Zuko. “Use your surroundings.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>So, Sokka noticed and made Zuko trip on purpose. Zuko sighed, shaking his head. His peripheral vision wasn’t exactly a forte.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Well, better quit while I’m winning, am I right?” Sokka grinned, balancing his sword on his shoulder. “And you’ve got important jerkbending teacher duties in the morning, I assume.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Both teens sheathed their weapons and bowed before walking back to their rooms.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Really, how’s that going?” Sokka kept chattering even on the way there. “I guess it’s going well, with the dragons and the dancing and all that... I mean, Aang hasn’t said much, but it’s <em>got</em> to be better than when he started earthbending with Toph. Man, you should have seen that.” He chuckled.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It’s alright.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Just alright?” gasped Sokka, pretending to be offended. “Do I have to defend my friend’s <em>honor</em> too?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“That’s not what I meant, Aang’s really talented! I’m actually... actually quite proud of his progress,” Zuko admitted hesitantly. “Are you happy now?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Sure am!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Then could you stop making jokes about honor?” Zuko asked in a pained voice but his heart wasn’t really in it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Never.” Sokka flashed a smile at him and poked Zuko’s side with the tip of his sheathed sword. “That’s how I show affection.”</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>-</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Knees higher, Twinkletoes!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Toph’s voice was booming through the training grounds. Zuko was sitting on the stairs by the foot of a statue, watching Aang, Toph and Haru train. He offered to help Katara with the dishes but she declined, her voice sharp as a shard of ice. So now he was just watching earthbending training, for the lack of a better thing to do.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“This isn’t the time to be light and breezy, Twinkletoes!” Toph yelled as Aang messed up the form yet another time.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m trying!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It was much better than the first time, Aang,” Haru added supportively and gave the kid an encouraging thumbs-up. And he was right, even Zuko could see the little improvement in Aang’s forms, though the progress seemed to be much slower than with firebending. Zuko supposed it made sense, with Earth and Air being opposites.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang groaned in frustration, then stopped and for a second, he stared up at Zuko and the statue of the meditating airbender woman. He breathed in and out then grounded his feet the way Toph showed him to.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He didn’t mess up this time.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Haru cheered along with Aang at the successful form while Toph committed to a stiff nod. Zuko found himself wanting to clap but stopped his hands before he could do it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Not bad, Twinkletoes,” Toph said jokingly and punched Aang’s forearm. “We’ll make sure to have Sparky sitting here at all times as silent support from now on.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko hunched his shoulders self-consciously.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I don’t mind Zuko here,” Aang laughed. “But the silent support was from <em>her</em> this time...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He gestured above Zuko’s head and behind him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Who? The statue?” Haru asked, eyes widening. Aang nodded.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko knew why.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Avatar Yangchen,” he said at the same time as Aang. The boy’s eyes went wide as he looked at Zuko in surprise.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I uh... I did some research when I was trying to find you...” Zuko admitted awkwardly. “Some things stuck.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang just nodded and turned to Haru. “Yangchen was the last Air Nomad Avatar before me. I thought... if she could learn earthbending as an airbender, then I can too. You know, she was from this Temple...” Suddenly he grew excited, as if something great just popped into his mind. “There’s a really pretty painting of her in the great courtyard and it shows the airbending move she invented! I can show it to you guys if you want!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He was up the stairs, next to Zuko, in seconds, when he stopped to look back at Toph and Haru excitedly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Are you coming?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Eh, no offense to past-you, but paintings don’t really do it for me, Twinkletoes...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’ve seen that one already, sorry,” Haru sighed. “It’s really beautiful, though.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m coming.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It even surprised Zuko to hear himself say it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But Aang beamed and nodded and Zuko found himself following him through the corridors and twisted staircases of the temple.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I loved the stories about Yangchen as a kid. Did you know she was the one who made a truce with the Spirit World? I wonder if I could talk to her the way I talk to Roku, because she was amazing, you know... Every year, we held a celebration in her name. We travelled here from the Southern Temple and there was a ritual meal and meditation and music and after that, Monk Gyatso took us playing with kites and... There she is!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They stood in front of the painting. A good chunk of the landscape was obscured by black scorchmarks but Yangchen herself stood perfectly clear in the middle of the picture, hair blown in the wind. Of course, Zuko had seen this one before as well. And he read about Yangchen, though not exactly these kinds of things.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Still, hearing it from Aang was somehow different. Zuko wondered if he should ask about the painting on the opposite wall as well, just to give the airbender an excuse to keep talking.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He did. Before Zuko could think twice, he was dragged along to the next courtyard and Aang just kept talking and talking and it was sort of... endearing, just don’t tell Mai he thought that because she would find it nothing but boring, Zuko was sure.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“And you know, there was this great airball tournament held in the Eastern Temple every year and that’s when I visited my friends from there. The elders never liked that we spent so much time away because of a game but Gyatso took me every year and it was so much fun... And one time, my friends and I sneaked into the...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko found himself lost in his thoughts as he listened to Aang’s stories that had long steered away from the historical figures of the statues and paintings and instead were about the various shenanigans the young airbender got himself and his friends into. He found himself amused by the stories but there was also a shroud of guilt clouding his thoughts. He pushed the feeling back down, reminding himself he wasn’t even alive at the time.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Still, the words he faced his father with echoed in his mind, clearer than ever. The words about the Fire Nation’s lie.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko wasn’t sure when was the first time he realised the war his nation had been waging all over the world in the past hundred years wasn’t quite as glorious as his history books made it out to be. Maybe it was a series of first times, rather than one, really.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The thing is, he’d gone searching for the Avatar to the Air Temples when he’d been thirteen and just recently banished and instead he had found only ash - and no weapons of the Air Nation army and many, too many children. He had been a fugitive, a burned and scarred boy blending in too easily with the refugees cramped on the boat to Ba Sing Se. And he’d seen a girl named Song with her own scars and a boy named Lee who’d lost his brother to the war.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And now, he saw a boy named Aang - because what did it matter now, in this moment, that he was the Avatar - out of place in an empty temple of his people. Out of place, because he was chattery and bright and <em>alive</em> and everything else was silent.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Hey Zuko?” Zuko didn’t notice when Aang had stopped talking - about some sort of annual pilgrimage and the seven-day festival that followed it and about stuffing himself with pie as a way of celebrating. But he <em>had</em> stopped and now he was just staring at Zuko with those wide grey eyes of his. “You're not even listening to me.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I am. I was just... thinking.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Oh! Thinking what?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"That, uh..." Zuko said hesitantly. “That someone ought to write all this down... After the war, maybe we could come back here... to the other temples too, if you want... write down the things you remember. So, you know, so they won't be forgotten. What do you thi-"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He couldn’t finish the question because the next thing he knew were Aang's skinny arms draped around his torso, the boy's face buried in his shirt.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"A-aang?" Zuko asked awkwardly. Then he put his arms around him - if that was possible, even more awkwardly - to embrace the Avatar in a hug.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Good idea, Zuko," Aang mumbled into his shirt but said nothing more. Zuko suspected it was because he didn't want him to hear how thick his voice was.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Oh," the teen said. "Okay."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It wasn’t going to undo what happened, Zuko knew that. But it was something.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Okay," Aang repeated quietly - and Agni, his voice <em>was</em> thick - but he still didn't let go, just held himself close to Zuko.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And Zuko didn't mind it nearly as much as he expected.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p>-</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang looked like he was about to fall asleep in the middle of sunrise meditation. Again. To be fair, sunrise came early in the height of summer but Zuko knew just how important an aspect it was to learning firebending so no, no matter how many times the boy asked, they couldn’t just start the day later. It was called <em>sunrise </em>meditation, for Agni’s sake.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko risked a glance at his student again and he saw Aang’s eyelids nearly close.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hey!” He poked the boy’s side. “No sleeping!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’mawake!” Aang yelled as his eyes snapped open and he shoved away Zuko’s hand with a blast of air.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Aren’t you a monk or something?” Zuko glared at him. “I thought monks meditated.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“We do!” Aang protested and his words somehow turned into a yawn. Then he finished with a sheepish grin. “Just not this early.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko sighed. He suddenly remembered that last night, well after dinner Aang and Katara had been still out by the fountain, practising waterbending. Just how many hours of sleep did the kid manage to get exactly?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Come on,” Zuko said with another sigh as he pushed himself up from the floor. “Let’s have some tea.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko was grateful now he’d managed to learn how to make a fairly decent tea in Ba Sing Se. It wasn’t as good as Uncle’s but...</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Thanks,” Aang said earnestly as he handed him a cup. He held it with both hands and blew on it gently, the steaming hot tea cooling down just enough to be drinkable.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It’s nice,” he said after taking a sip. “Who knew you had it in you, Sifu Hotman...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What, making tea?” Zuko deadpanned.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang snorted into his cup.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I learned from my uncle. We... we worked at a tea shop in Ba Sing Se and... yeah...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I never thanked you properly," Aang said suddenly, staring off into the distance. Zuko wasn't exactly sure what could have popped into his head, but he somehow doubted he deserved thanks for it. "That you freed Appa in Ba Sing Se and let him go. That was nice of you. Thank you, Zuko."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Oh," Zuko said. "Uh, it was... also mostly thanks to my uncle, really. He convinced me... he wanted me to find what I really wanted and who I wanted to be. I guess at the time he already knew capturing you and going home wouldn't be... that it wouldn't be like I imagined it... "</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He wasn't really sure why he was telling all this to Aang.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I've met your uncle," Aang mused. "He seemed nice. He gave me some good advice, you know?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko nodded and stared into his steaming cup. They sat in silence.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Do you know who he reminds me of?" Aang asked after a few minutes of absentmindedly sipping his tea. "Gyatso."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko looked up.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"He was my master. And my friend," explained Aang. "He died, a hundred years ago. But he would always know what to say when I needed advice. He taught me how to play pai sho, too."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Yeah, that sounded like the sort of person Uncle would immediately make friends with.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Did he also make tea?" Zuko offered.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Fruit pies, more like," Aang smiled at the memory, but his smile was sort of a sad one.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I'm sorry," Zuko said. He couldn't think of anything else to say. "You must miss him terribly."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I do," admitted Aang, then quickly changed the subject. "I'm sure you must miss your uncle too. Where is he?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I... I don't know. He went to prison for helping you in Ba Sing Se. I wanted to free him on the day of the eclipse but by the time I got there, he was gone. He broke free and left. And even if I knew where he was... " Zuko hesitated. "I don’t think he’d want to see me."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Why not?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I betrayed him. I said terrible things to him."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Zuko?" Aang smiled, putting down his now empty cup on the table without even a soft <em>clink</em>. "He'll forgive you. I know."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>There wasn’t a hint of doubt in his voice. Zuko didn't ask how he knew. Maybe it was an Avatar thing... Or perhaps an Air Nomad thing, Zuko wasn’t sure. It could have been just an Aang thing, though.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Wait! I've got it!" All of a sudden, Aang jumped up. "I know what would cheer you up!" He was already on the far side of the corridor when he yelled back to Zuko excitedly. "You're gonna love the giant pai sho table!"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko followed him as he disappeared around the corner. He decided that maybe half a day off from firebending training wouldn’t hurt anybody.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The chamber Aang lead him to was... amazing. Its huge windows let in all the light of the afternoon sun and on its floor was a pai sho table reaching from one wall to the other. A set of tiles the size of plates was stacked in one of the corners, seemingly intact.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"This really is... big," Zuko said in awe.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"The biggest in the world!" beamed Aang proudly. "Hey, wanna play a round?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I'm not sure... I was never so great at pai sho. And I haven't played in so long. I must be rusty... "</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"You can't be rustier than me-" grinned Aang his usual crooked smile. "I haven't played in a hundred years!"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Alright, alright, I'll play with you... " Zuko raised his hands in surrender. "Old man."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang laughed and caused all the dust that had settled in the room in the past hundred years to start swirling in the air.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>So they started playing. Zuko searched through the tiles and realised how terribly impractical it was to have them be this big. Then, since he wasn't an airbender who could probably just send the piece flying through the room and land it where he wanted to, Zuko walked to the middle of the board and set the tile down.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"The White Lotus. Nice," commented Aang. "Did you learn that strategy from your uncle?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko nodded. "I first learned pai sho watching him play with his son, my cousin Lu Ten. Then he taught me too."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang hummed approvingly. He found the tile he was looking for and set it next to Zuko's - with airbending, exactly as the teen had thought he would.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They played and Zuko lost, of course. He really should have paid more attention to Uncle when he explained him the different strategies that could be used in pai sho. What probably also didn't help was that Aang kept flying around the room and he could see the whole board from higher up, while Zuko stayed on ground level and he had to admit, he was starting to grow a bit confused by the end of it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But these were just excuses and did not change the fact that Zuko got his ass beaten in pai sho by a sleep-deprived, twelve-year-old monk. Who was also his student.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>So the next day, Zuko tried his best and he won one round. Then Aang won the next two. Then they brought in Sokka, who won several times by showing an incredible ability to either disregard the rules or find a completely new way of interpreting them. Zuko would have simply called this <em>cheating</em>, but Sokka insisted on the name <em>creative strategy. </em>Aang just thought it was great fun.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>That was, until the day after, when at breakfast they asked who else wanted to play pai sho too and Teo spent the day wiping the floor with all three of them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko actually didn't mind it all that much. He might have even gone as far as to admit that he was having fun. Not out loud, though. Just quietly, to himself.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p>-</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Nice work on the attacking forms," Zuko said after Aang's demonstration. He meant it, Aang was talented and after his initial nervousness was over, he seemed to even start enjoying firebending. That was important, passion and enthusiasm mattered as much as the hard work itself. "You're progressing well."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Wow thanks, Zuko!" Aang beamed. He certainly was enthusiastic. Then he corrected himself with a teasing grin. "Sifu Zuko!"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko waved the name off with a gesture of his hand.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"We are going to start learning a defense form today. It's important to know how to turn the attacker's fire into your advantage and how to keep yourself from getting burned." Zuko took up his stance. "Now, you try attacking me so I can show you."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang, to Zuko's surprise, lowered his hands hesitantly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Attack you? W-with fire?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Yes," sighed Zuko, reminding himself of the importance of patience.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang swallowed nervously.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Are you sure?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko nodded in reassurance. Then he realised that wasn't going to be enough.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Listen, I know you're nervous about this and looking at my face probably doesn't help much," he began, trying to think of what Uncle would say. He would know what to say. He would be a better teacher to the Avatar too. But he wasn't here and Aang needed to make do with Zuko. He hesitantly placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. "I know you burned Katara once. But that's exactly why you need a teacher, to show you how to control your fire. You learned so much already. It'll be fine, okay? I trust you."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang sighed heavily but nodded.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Okay, then, stance and remember your breathing," Zuko instructed him, also falling back into his stance.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang mirrored him, then pulled back his hand to thrust it forward with a bright flame shot from his fist. Zuko waited for it to arrive, then he took Aang's fire and with a spin of his arms, dissolved it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"That was great!" Aang commented, his excitement returning.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They went over the movements a couple times before Aang felt completely sure but by then, his anticipation couldn't be controlled anymore.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Let me try now!"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They both took up the stance, Zuko readying his hand for an attack. His arm, his shoulder, his torso moved back to gain strength and speed, then thrust forward. It was a simple attack, the first one he was taught, the first one he thought Aang. Something in the back of his mind still told Zuko to stop.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Then he realised what it was.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He was facing Aang.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It felt wrong. With the unfortunate accident with Toph as an exception, Zuko hadn't attacked any of his newfound teammates since... since Ba Sing Se, he realised. Even if this was for training and that, that had been for real, Zuko couldn't help but hate the thought of facing Aang and sending a fireball straight at him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Which brought Zuko to another thought that he hated.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He had been a kid.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang is a kid, Zuko thought.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang was twelve. Younger than Zuko had been at the time of the Agni Kai. He was younger and already with a scar burned into his back, by <em>his</em> sister, a scar Zuko could barely look at because it reminded him too much of what he saw looking in the mirror.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p><em>Suffering will be your teacher</em>, the words echoed in his mind from a memory that was far away, but still not far enough.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The former prince of the Fire Nation stood frozen.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Uhm, Zuko?" Aang broke the growing silence, his shoulders lowered as he uncertainly broke his stance. "You said I needed to learn the defense forms, so uh... how exactly do you plan on doing that?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko gulped.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"You learned enough for today," he said in a voice just a little more raspy than usual. Aang dropped his shoulders and cocked his head to the side. "Twenty more firesquats and we're done, alright?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang groaned in protest but started the exercise as Zuko returned to his room and dropped down on the bed. He needed to think.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p>-</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hey, Sparky, you missed dinner!” It was Toph’s voice, right outside of his room.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I wasn’t hung-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m coming in!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Before Zuko could finish his protest, Toph slammed his door open. Since she got burned on accident for startling Zuko, the earthbender had been making a point of making as much noise as possible and announcing where she was at completely random times. Zuko was convinced she was just doing it to get back at him, if her teasing tone was anything go by.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Here!” Toph said and handed him a bowl full of cold soup. “I know you were lying when you said you weren’t hungry. And Twinkletoes even convinced Sugar Queen to add more of that crazy hot spice you like, so eat up.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Uh, thanks.” Zuko reheated the bowl and made a mental note to teach Aang this the next time he has the chance. The soup really was less bland than Katara’s usual cooking, more like how Zuko liked.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Toph stood by the bed for a few seconds before deciding to throw herself down next to him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“So, what are you moping about?” She asked, blunt and straighforward as ever.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Nothing,” Zuko said, maybe a bit too quickly. “I’m not moping.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You guys keep forgetting I know when you’re lying.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Oh...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Spill it, Zuko,” Toph said, then grinned. “Not the soup, though.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed at the joke. “I think Sokka’s a bad influence on you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Toph laughed, loudly. Toph did everything loudly. Zuko actually liked that about her, though he wasn’t sure why.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“So what is it?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I don’t know,” Zuko sighed. It wasn’t exactly true, but if Toph noticed it was a lie, she apparently let it slip. “I got my firebending back and we learned so much from the Sun Warriors, but it’s like I’m... I still have so much doubt.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“But not about joining us.” It wasn’t a question.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No, not about that.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“About teaching Aang firebending, then?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No...” Zuko hesitated. “Maybe. Aang’s doing great, I’m just... I’m not sure <em>I</em> can do it.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Listen, Sparky, you know you’re the best option we’ve got, right? And a pretty damn good option at that. You’re a pretty cool firebender. And I’m like, ninety percent sure that after Katara, you’re Aang’s favourite teacher.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Not you?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Nah, I yell at him too much for that,” Toph shrugged, then flashed a grin at Zuko. The teen snorted.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I know,” Toph continued, more seriously now, “that fire doesn’t work like earth, because it sort of has its own will and that it can be scary...” There was a slight hesitancy in Toph’s voice and Zuko wondered if maybe she knew more about his concerns and doubts and about <em>him </em>then she let on.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She was Toph <em>Beifong</em>, after all, though Zuko kept forgetting she was nobility. He was quite certain everyone else kept forgetting it too, including Toph, but of course it meant she could have heard more things about the scarred and banished prince of the enemy nation. And if she had, she just had to put the pieces together.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I think whatever scared you in the past...” Toph started again, more hesitantly. She knows, Zuko thought. He ran his fingers over the burnt, rash skin of his scar self-consiously and he hoped Toph didn’t notice it. The earthbender seemed to be really out of her depth but to her credit, she was trying to help him. “Or whatever scares you now... you gotta face it head-on.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She hit her fist into her palm for emphasis. “And I think, from what I already know about you, that you can do that, Zuko, ‘cos you’re brave enough for it.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You think so?” Zuko breathed. His voice kind of wavered and he knew Toph heard it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah! I mean, you left your home and your nation to join us. That’s brave. And you fought that assassin too to save us and then you faced <em>actual</em> dragons. That’s brave too.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko felt the corner of his mouth involuntarily pull into a smile. He never thought of it that way, he was just trying to finally do what was right.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Thank you, Toph,” he said sincerely.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The girl looked up at him. Or well, somewhere in his general direction. Then she elbowed Zuko’s arm and he really, really wasn’t sure why.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Ow,” he said.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You better not tell this to anyone, though,” she said with a grin. “It’d ruin my reputation if those dunderheads knew I’m out here, having heart-to-hearts with people.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Your secret’s safe with me,” said Zuko almost jokingly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It better be, Sparky. But now, time for bed!” Toph announced, getting up from his bed and stretched her shoulders. “Good night, Zuko!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Good night, Toph.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko was still staring at the door long after she was gone.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p>-</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He slept surprisingly well that night and at the first light of sunrise, with Toph’s words still in his mind, he felt like he could try again.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But breakfast-time and warm-up execrises went by too quickly, and soon Zuko stood in front of Aang, who immediately wanted to start with the promised new technique.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He was hopping up and down in excitement, feet barely touching the ground before he took his stance, facing Zuko and waiting for the attack. And Zuko tried, really, but-</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Suffering would be his teacher.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And it had been. It still, in some ways, was.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko didn't want it to be that for Aang too.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I can't," he confessed, staring at the ground.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"What? Why?" Aang seemed confused. "Come on, you got your bending back and it's awesome! And I learned dancing and the breathing and the stance and everything! I'm ready."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko dropped down on the ground, sitting cross-legged.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I can't just shoot fire at you, Aang," he said quietly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Katara or perhaps even Sokka would have made a salty remark about how that'd never seemed to bother him before.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Oh," said Aang and simply sat next to Zuko.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"Was it a training accident?" He asked softly and placed a supportive hand on the part of Zuko that was closest to him, which happened to be his knee.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko shook his head and Aang didn't pressure him. He stayed silent, though he didn't pull back his hand either.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It wasn't exactly some secret that Zuko didn't want anyone to find out. Everyone in the palace knew and then some, but Zuko himself had never told anyone before.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He also had never betrayed his country to help his nation's supposedly greatest enemy before. He never had been called <em>Sparky</em> or <em>Prince Fireflakes</em> or <em>Sifu Hotman</em> before. He never had anyone - other than Uncle - he trusted enough to talk about it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>There was a first time for everything, Zuko guessed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>There'd been many first times of his life lately.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"It was an Agni Kai," he started quietly, then explained. "A fire duel."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang gave him a reassuring look, as if he was telling Zuko to go ahead, he’s listening.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p><em>You gotta face it head-on</em>, Toph had said.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"I spoke up against a general's plan in my father's war council. And that... that was a huge disrespect."</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"And the general did <em>this</em> to you?" Aang looked like he couldn’t believe his ears. And he hadn’t even heard everything yet.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>"My father did," Zuko muttered.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Your dad... Zuko, I’m...” Aang’s voice trembled. Zuko very deliberatly did not look up at him. He didn’t know if he would see pity or fear in his yes but he knew he would hate to see either of them. “I’m sorry,” the boy finished quietly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko shook his head.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It was a long time ago.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You say it like that makes it any better-” Aang blurted out, then covered his mouth with his hand like he hadn’t meant for those words to spill out.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No, you’re right, it doesn’t... ” Zuko made a sound that was half a chuckle and half a pained huff. Honestly, he didn’t know which one it was either. “I didn’t know that back then... but I do now.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“When-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I was thirteen.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang gulped. He was staring at Zuko but as if his eyes didn’t see him. Zuko wondered if he was imagining him as a thirteen-year-old boy, young and unscarred, or perhaps thinking back to that friend from the Fire Nation he’d once told Zuko about. Kuzon, that was his name. He could have been around thirteen too, at least when Aang had last seen him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They sat in silence for so long Zuko was starting to second-guess his decision to tell Aang about this because really, what was he thinking? Not like he hadn’t already knew Zuko came from a messed-up family but now it got apparent just how utterly, incredibly messed-up it was. How messed-up Zuko was. What kind of person would want to-</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I understand if you don’t want me to teach you now that you know...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What? Why wouldn’t I-” Aang looked at him in disbelief and confusion. Then he realised what Zuko meant and he effectively yelled at him. But even with his voice raised a bit, he didn’t sound angry. “Zuko! You’re not your dad!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He jumped up and grabbed Zuko’s hand to pull him up from the ground.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You are not your father!” he said, struggling a bit with Zuko’s weight before he decided to help him and stand up on his own. “You’re nothing like him! You joined us and you’re helping us and-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang led Zuko back to where he stood during practice.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“And you’re my firebending teacher-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Perhaps you could find another teacher...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No,” Aang shook his head with a softened expression. “I’m the Avatar, right? It’s my destiny to learn firebending and save the world. And that means your destiny’s to teach me firebending, because I don’t want another teacher.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko frowned. That was a really... kind thing to say. But as Toph had pointed it out, he was also probably the only firebender willing to teach Aang in the world so the compliment just wasn’t all that flattering.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Uhm, thanks... I guess,” he said, still frowning.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I was nervous yesterday but you told me you trusted me, and that helped,” Aang said gently now. “Zuko, you are my firebending teacher. And my friend. I trust you too.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“So you still think we could be friends?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“We are.” Aang nodded confidently. Then, “Zuko?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hm?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m gonna hug you now, okay?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko didn’t protest, though he wasn’t sure why. He nodded, rather shyly but Aang was already wrapping his arms around him - again. The kid apparently had many hugs to give.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Zuko couldn’t stop the smile that sat on his face. He wasn’t sure he wanted to.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Okay, okay, that’s enough hugging for now,” he said after a while, awkwardly patting Aang’s back. The boy pulled back from the hug and looked at Zuko uncertainly. Probably because Zuko was still smiling as he said, “Can we go on with the form already? Prepare your stance and let’s see how you can deflect that fire!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang grinned at him and jumped back to his place, taking up a defensive stance. Zuko took a deep breath.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Trust him, he reminded himself. Trust yourself.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Aang deflected Zuko’s attack with ease.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I did it!” he yelled in excitement. “Zuko, I did it!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You did it.” Zuko nodded.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It’s... it’s almost like airbending! Can we try it again?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They spent the rest of the day practising this and a couple more complicated defensive forms, after which both of them were so exhausted, Zuko seriously contemplated skipping dinner and just going straight to bed. But Katara - as suspicious as she acted towards Zuko usually - didn’t have any of that. It might have been Aang’s excitement that softened her. Zuko couldn’t imagine how he still had the energy to the explain and demonstrate the forms he learned while gesturing wildly to Sokka, Haru and Teo.</p>
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  <p>“I gotta admit,” whispered Sokka elbowing Zuko, “that does sound pretty cool.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah, Twinkletoes here’s all excited,” Toph agreed. “He was like that when he managed to earthbend for the first time, remember, Sokka?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“The day I fell down a hole and thought I was gonna die? Thanks for reminding me, Toph,” Sokka answered saltily and Zuko couldn’t help but notice the wicked grin that sat out on Toph’s face. But then the Water Tribe boy turned to him again and said, “I guess that jerkbending isn’t all that lame, then.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Thanks, Sokka,” Zuko said dryly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Any time, Prince Sparkypants!” Sokka laughed and Toph used the moment of distraction to steal a dumpling from his plate.</p>
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  <p>Zuko allowed himself to crack a smile.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Then, his smile turned into a laugh at the expression on Sokka’s face and Toph’s teasing jokes and as he saw, just from the corner of his eyes, Aang finally settling down by the fire to eat, still laughing at something with his lemur climbed on his shoulder.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>There’d been a lot of first time in Zuko’s life lately. This, this was also one of them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The first time Zuko realised maybe it wasn’t just <em>not bad</em>, but actually quite good to eat dinner together.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>With his friends.</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Aaaand here it is!<br/>This might be my last atla fic for a while as i can feel a new obsession forming and my head is humming with ideas for that fandom (if you haven't already, please watch the dragon prince, you won't regret it)</p><p>If you enjoyed, leave kudos and comments to save my life</p><p>Find me on tumblr @sky-mage (previously @afuckindelighttobearound)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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